About
Dr. Sarah Kertz, PhD
Dr. Kertz now works with clients at Anxiety Specialists of St. Louis. Please visit that website for more information.
I completed my PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Louisville in 2011 and then went on for two additional years of training at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School for my internship and postdoctoral fellowship. While at McLean I trained at the OCD Institute, a nationally recognized program for treating OCD.
Following my postdoc, I worked for almost a decade in a psychology department as an assistant professor and then a tenured associate professor. My roles were primarily to provide training to doctoral students in the clinical psychology program and to supervise doctoral dissertations and masters thesis projects. I taught graduate level classes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Psychopathology, Cognition, Affect and Behavior, and others. I also provided individual and group supervision to over 25 doctoral level students in providing effective Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exposure and Ritual Prevention (ERP) therapy for anxiety and OCD. As an expert in the field, I have over fifteen years of clinical experience working directly with people to decrease anxiety, worry, and OCD.
My practice is focused on helping women with OCD learn to get unstuck from their thoughts and behaviors and get their lives back. My treatment approach is designed to help you develop concrete strategies and skills to manage your anxiety differently. We’ll work as a team to map out what your anxiety looks like and how it’s getting in the way. Some of the greatest compliments I’ve received from clients are about how they feel empowered during our work together. Your treatment process is collaborative—we work together on this!
I also offer consultation to other professionals. I’m happy to provide consultation around clinical issues related to anxiety, phobias, and OCD (I use ERP, ICBT, traditional CBT, and some ACT and Mindfulness interventions).
I also offer consultation around the business side of private practice.
I work best with women who are so sick of their OCD that they’re ready to make working on it a priority.
This can be tough given all the other competition for your time. But here’s the thing—you’ll get out of therapy what you put into therapy. For that reason, I meet with people for weekly sessions with the expectation that you’ll be able to do daily homework at home between meetings. Research shows that people who do daily practice get better faster and stay better longer than people who don’t.
If you’re not ready for this kind of work right now, I’m happy to give you some referrals that may be a better fit. If you’re ready to get started, please fill out the contact form below!
EDUCATION
I completed my PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of Louisville in 2011 and then went on for two additional years of training at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School for my internship and postdoctoral fellowship. I have over ten years of experience working with people on anxiety, worry, and OCD.
I then accepted a position in a psychology department for eight years. Ultimately I decided that my true passion was in clinical work and I moved into full time private practice in 2020. I have published over 35 articles in peer-reviewed journals on topics related to anxiety, OCD, and depression (read them here) and have over 100 presentations at national and international conferences, including the International OCD Foundation, Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. I also held a position as co-Director of research at the McLean OCD Institute at Houston from 2012-2020 (Co-Director of research).
In my free time I enjoy finding the best baked goods in the city, true crime podcasts, poking around the local library and estate sales, and spending time with my husband and six month old son.
Call or email today to set up a